Descriptive Language:

The purpose of descriptive language is to make it possible for the reader to easily imagine a scene, a character, an object, or an action for themselves. Descriptive language is the necessary ingredient for a good story, a funny joke, or a compelling sales pitch. When recounting the craic from last night to your friends, you would be a very dull storyteller indeed if you didn’t animate your tale with descriptive language. People want to share feelings, to find a way inside what is being told to them in person, on a page, or on a screen. Descriptive language helps us to empathise with other people, to feel their individual experiences. In the words of Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” The storyteller’s descriptive skills make it possible for us to know what it feels like in the depths of outer space, or the depths of love. The ability to feel more compassion and understanding for others: what could be more important in today’s world of anonymous internet anger and instant judgement?

So, how can you improve your descriptive skills? You use all the techniques that you’ve already learned for poetry. After all, poetry is descriptive language at its purest. The techniques include the use of sensuous language that appeals to the reader’s senses of touch, taste, sound sense, and smell. To create the sounds of what you’re trying to describe, you can use the poetic techniques for sound; onomatopoeia, alliteration and sibilance, etc. To describe visual images, you can use the poetic techniques for sight; simile, metaphor, personification, etc. Other important techniques include; colours, descriptive lists, and comparison and contrast. However, your use of adjectives (words that describe a noun) is the principal tool for writing descriptively.

Consider the following extract that my daughter Aisling (A1) wrote in 2013 for her Paper 1 Essay.

‘Small fires littered the panicked streets, soon to be extinguished by weary people who knew in their hearts that those ashes would smoulder and blaze again soon. Laura wondered how the little street could be so quickly crumpled like a sheet of paper, leaving nothing of her childhood behind, but skeletal house frames and crumbling brickwork.’

The opening sentence uses both adjectives and personification to bring the scene of destruction to life for the reader. Thereafter, there is an unusual use of adjective ‘crumpled’ to describe the street and a simile to catch the reader’s attention. Finally, this paragraph ends with an appeal to the emotions by describing the loss of childhood memories through more personification and adjectives. The comparison of the street to a piece of paper sticks in the mind, reminding us of the impermanence of buildings, society, and memory. The essay becomes a vivid reading experience where the reader can clearly imagine the scene, as well as the feelings of the narrator.

There’s one final thing to consider when you are using descriptive language. Despite my tireless advocacy for descriptive writing, you must try to restrain yourself from going overboard! Students often make the mistake of thinking that if they throw every descriptive technique known to man into a sentence, then it will create an evocative experience for the reader. ‘Her fiery red hair burst smilingly out from under her vibrant purple hat like a ferocious dragon’s burning breath was delightedly licking the sides of her face in ecstasy.’ Isn’t that simply horrifying? It’s so over the top that you just can’t take it seriously.

Writing well is about accurate description that is simple and direct. Never forget the power of understatement. We live in a world where superlatives (words that denote that something is of the highest degree like best, biggest, greatest, fastest etc) are overused to the point that they lack the impact they once had. Think of Donald Trump’s superlative laden speeches. Isn’t it a challenging experience to take his words seriously? Overusing descriptive language leads to reader apathy, and when the reader no longer cares about what you are writing about, then you’ve failed to write well. Remember how William Carlos Williams described the experience of eating stolen plums straight out of the fridge, ‘Forgive me, they were delicious, so sweet, and so cold’. What is most effective about these lines is the sparsity and accuracy of his words. It teaches us that sometimes less, is indeed more.